Ridgefield Hamlet Hub

“I’m so proud to be a Tiger. And a gay one, at that, ” says 2011 RHS Valedictorian Patrick Ford-Matz

By Dia Sharma, HamletHub Intern

Last night, the Facebook and Twitter homepages of current and graduated Ridgefield High School students were flooded with outspoken statuses regarding a recent Twitter account which targeted gay and lesbian students in the community, namely at RHS.

Within a few hours of the creation of the account, students acted out against the unknown creator of the account, and more importantly, cyber-bullying in general. Kelly Aaronson, a senior at Ridgefield High School, made her status “Ashamed to be a part of the RHS student body right now.” Aaronson’s got thirty-one likes and twelve comments on it last night, demonstrating the youth community’s views against cyber-bullying.

When asked about her involvement in responding to the offensive Twitter account, RHS Alum Kiera Bloch said that it was impossible to stand by and not react to the fact that individual students were being called out. “In light of recent local events, as well as the general crimes against the gay community on a national level, we felt it was necessary to address the issue,” Bloch said.

Holly Walker, another RHS Alum, and Bloch drafted a letter to RHS Principal Jeffrey Jaslow last night, posted the letter on Facebook, and asked students to sign their name in a Facebook Inbox to add as an addendum at the end of the letter. Within hours, hundreds of students had demonstrated their support for the anti-cyber-bullying movement currently taking place through the social media vessel in Southern Connecticut.

A Facebook group titled “Southern Connecticut High Schools: An End to Cyber Bullying” was created last night. It was originally titled “RHS: An End to Cyber-bullying” and was renamed with Southern Connecticut in the title to incorporate multiple high schools in the area, including Joel Barlow High School and Weston High School. The group currently has over 1000 members, including students from a variety of high schools as well as parents of students.

But why? Why such a drastic reaction to a single Twitter account?

“We have all been bullied or know someone who has been bullied,” Bloch said. She, in addition to hundreds of students in Ridgefield, believe that it is the responsibility of Ridgefield High School’s administration, faculty, and student body to foster an environment where students feel safe, regardless of their personal beliefs or sexual orientation.

Although the Twitter account has been deleted, the aftermath is still very much alive. “It’s important that the victims of these accounts are aware of the tremendous positive response that has come from the entire Ridgefield community,” Bloch said. “It’s inspiring and it’s important,” she added.

When RHS Alum and Class of 2011 Valedictorian Patrick Ford-Matz was asked about the issue, he said, “I’ve been bragging about RHS since I got to Penn. My friends here seemed shocked I felt comfortable enough to come out in high school, but it seemed like the most natural thing in the world to me. In retrospect, Ridgefield High is a remarkably accepting and progressive place. Sure, this incident shook my faith a bit, but the remarkable and massive reaction by the student body just reinforces why I’m so proud to be a Tiger. And a gay one, at that.”

Bloch and Walker are still working diligently to spread the anti-cyber-bullying movement, working primarily through social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, but also sending informative emails to news sites and administrators in and around Ridgefield.

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How many lemonade stands have you stopped at in your life? It seems kids are born with a beautiful entrepreneurial spirit. Some kids take that spirit to the next level—moving from the lemonade stands to mowing lawns or walking neighbors’ dogs.

Do you have a kidpreneur living at your house? If so, we’d like to hear from them. I happen to be the mom of a kidpreneur. My son began a coffee delivery business at the age of 10. He went on to create an online sports website where he would track scores, feature video, and provide game time commentary. He even had contributing writers and one advertiser.

Kids with ideas have no boundaries. And, unlike adults, they don’t focus on the obstacles that could potentially cause roadblocks. They focus their energies on the joy of creating and the people who will potentially benefit from their product, service, or organization.

One of our HamletHub editors, Sally Allen, is the mom of a kidpreneur. Henry’s Handmade Connecticut Candles was born of Henry’s desire to earn some money so he could purchase Legos.

“I started making candles because my dad said I had to start paying for my own Legos. I love Legos and save my money to buy them,” Henry explains on his website. “I came up with candles, which my dad said was an ok idea. I did some research and decided to make the best candles ever, ” he adds.

While most candles are created from oil, Henry decided to make his candles out of beeswax made in the United States. Yes, the candles are a bit more expensive when composed of beeswax, especially American beeswax, but they are also 100 percent natural, healthier for the environment and for you. He offers unscented and scented (with aromatherapy essential oils) candles.

Even the wicks on Henry’s Handmade Candles are natural, made either from wood or 100 percent cotton and attached with melted wax.

“Most wicks are attached with glue,” Henry points out. “It’s easier and faster, but that also means you’re burning chemicals in your home. Why would you want to do that?”

Because Henry doesn’t use any chemicals or preservatives, when all the wax burns down, the jars can easily be cleaned out and reused.

His two most popular items are his travel candles, which come in light-weight tins, and his pinecone firestarters. For the latter, Henry attaches a wick to the pinecones, which he collected hyperlocally at Sherwood Island, by drizzling wax on them. They keep your fire blazing and, if you wish, nicely scented.

Visit Henry’s fantastic website, where his motto is “You design it, I make it.” You can place your custom order—choosing the type of container, scent, and color—right there on his website.

If your child is a kidpreneur, we’d love to feature his or her idea on HamletHub. Please have your child write to us at: Info@hamlethub.com and let us know all about what they have created.

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by Jennifer Leavitt-Wipf

“Don’t Throw Out the Arts,” a panel discussion on the critical role of the arts in education will take place at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, 258 Main St., Ridgefield on Tuesday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m.

Studies tell us that children who study the arts – from music and drama to painting and handwork – are better socially adapted, rank higher on standardized tests, and are even more likely to get into medical school (Phi Delta Kappan, Feb., 1994), yet the arts continue to take a backseat to almost every other discipline when it comes time to plan (and pare) school curriculums.

Panelists – who will discuss the benefits of arts education, and the ramifications of cuts – will include Suzanne Enser-Ryan, Aldrich’s head of school, teacher and docent programs, Deirdre McCann, a pediatric occupational therapist, Dr. Gerald Karnow, a family practitioner, Michael O’Donoghue, headmaster of the Old Westbury School of the Holy Child, and attorney Neil H. Abramson, who authored the recently published novel “Unsaid.” Panelists will call upon personal and anecdotal experiences as well as hard facts from research studies to answer questions. Melissa Merkling, founder of the Housatonic Valley Waldorf School, will moderate.

A Stanford University study found that young people who participated in an arts program, at least three hours on three days of each week throughout at least a year, were four times as likely to be recognized for academic achievement or to participate in a math and science fair, and three times more likely to be elected to their class office or win an award for school attendance, than were their peers who did not participate in an arts program. According to Johns Hopkins School of Education, The College Entrance Examination Board announced that “Students who studied arts and music scored significantly higher than the national average on the Scholastic Aptitude Test.” In addition, “Students who had participated in acting, play production, music performance and appreciation, drama appreciation, and art history, scored an average of 31 to 50 points higher for the math and verbal sections.” The board added that “Students with long-term arts study (four years or more) tend to score significantly higher on the SAT than those with less coursework in the arts.”

Open to the public, the discussion will focus on the relationship between the arts and a student’s creativity, self-worth and academic success, sensory integration issues, learning disabilities, focus, self-discipline, behavior, and socialization in school and, later, in the work place.

Co-sponsoring with the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum are the Apple Blossom School & Family Center of Wilton, The Clover Hill School of Norwalk, The Garden Gate Early Childhood Program of Southbury, and Housatonic Valley Waldorf School of Newtown.

Space is limited and a $10 pre-registration is recommended. The fee is $15 at the door. For more information, contact Therese Lederer at 203-364-9881 or tlederer@waldorfct.org.

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Getting Smarter with Age

There is a place in Ridgefield where time has stood still for nearly 250 years. The Little Red Schoolhouse, known to some as Peter Parley Schoolhouse or West Lane Schoolhouse is located on a small piece of land surrounded by a triangle of roadway where Route 35 meets West Lane and Peter Parley Road. The original dark-wood floor boards, ornamental gooseneck lamps, decorative rosette window casings, unique curved ceiling (created so the teacher’s voice would carry toward the back of the building) and woodstove are bound to give visitors goose bumps. Fifteen desks that have blanketed the floor of the schoolhouse since 1890, remain. Passersby can’t help but marvel at the building’s exterior Old World charm: the original flagpole, tall steeple, and bell tower.

In 1915, the door of the schoolhouse closed, the flag was taken down and the bell no longer beckoned the young. The door wouldn’t reopen again until 1961 when the Ridgefield Garden Club took the schoolhouse under their wing. “In 1961, the Garden Club ladies put in electricity, heat and painted the exterior- they really perked it up,” says Garden Club member Donna Warren. In addition, club members volunteered as “docents”; opening the schoolhouse so visitors could take a look inside.

Why, after almost 50 years, is the schoolhouse getting so much attention? Last fall, Ridgefield Garden Club president, Mary Swett, asked club member, Donna Warren to “be in charge” of The Little Red School House. “What Mary meant was for me to open the house once in a while,” explains Warren. But, Warren, who’s mother taught in a one room school house in 1917, had a deep seeded passion for history, education, children and her beloved Ridgefield. “I was embarrassed because I didn’t know much about Peter Parley or the schoolhouse and, as docents, we had nothing to offer visitors,” admits Warren. “I decided I wanted to make a museum and learning center out of the schoolhouse,” she adds.

“The first thing we did was clean the schoolhouse. My husband [Carl] and I scrubbed the walls and floors, there were layers of dirt,” explains Warren. With the help of some dedicated people including town historians Kay Ables and Jack Sanders, Warren was able to brush the cobwebs off of some fantastic learning materials which now adorn the interior. “Kay Ables found an original 1854 map where there are territories, no states…it’s oil coated cloth,” says Warren. Research on Ridgefield’s history, done by Jack Sanders, enabled Warren to create a wall poster displaying Ridgefield’s historical timeline. “It begins in 1754 and stops in 1915 when the schoolhouse closed and World War 1 began. It shows Ridgefield as it intertwines with Peter Parley, the wars, the government and the presidents,” explains Warren.

And, Warren says a “lucky break” came when a women who works for The Library of Congress in the Rare Books Department came to visit the schoolhouse. “She gave me so much information about Peter Parley and the schoolbooks,” says Warren. The dusty old schoolbooks (even some that belonged to Peter Parley) that Warren is referring to, were found buried in boxes in the corners of the building and are now prominently displayed. “I put the books out so children could pick them up and look at them,” says Warren.

Warren’s son, Tom, a photo journalist, helped his mother create an entertaining and educational movie. “My first thought was to have some sort of a video as an attraction so people could get an overview of Ridgefield and Peter Parley,” explains Warren. In the video, “Peter Parley Pays a Visit”, The Little Red Schoolhouse’s most famous student, Samuel Griswald Goodrich who operated under the pen name “Peter Parley”, takes the audience down “memory lane” from his recollection of being a student at the schoolhouse (his only “formal” education) and a resident of Ridgefield, to becoming a famous author and publisher and state senator.

Warren credits a local carpenter named Charlie Bartholet for much of the interior structural improvements. “You can’t imagine a man putting in so much effort; he put in a wall that matches the original wall and fixed the ceiling; it was falling down, ” explains Warren. Bartholet also did something no one has attempted since 1915. “He got up on a ladder and got the flagpole working and we hung a flag; I was so touched when I saw that flag flying,” exclaims Warren.

The Little Red Schoolhouse, now a museum and learning center, will be open two Sundays a month from 1-3pm or you can call: 203.431.0563  to schedule an appointment to visit- all school groups, scouts, brownies or other town groups are welcome. “All they have to do is call and we’ll have someone here to let them in, ” says Warren.

“How interesting to study about education in the 1800′s and then come to see it. I love history- if I can instill that in any child, I’d be delighted,” proclaims Warren.

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by Terri Woods Garlick

Throughout Connecticut, students active in physical education classes are soon to participate in the Connecticut Physical Fitness Assessment, 3rd Generation, gaining valuable knowledge relating to health issues and promoting active lifestyles.  For this purpose, physical education teachers are increasing the intensity of class and encouraging their students to practice on their own to help prepare.

Increasing these opportunities to engage students in more physical activity has been a focus for Ridgefield’s physical educators.  This year, Wellness Walks for all six elementary schools have been organized for October as part of collaborated department efforts. Steve Ethier, physical education teacher at Farmingville Elementary School, shares, “we are calling it Fall into Fitness because it is a great time of the year to enjoy the beauty of the season, heighten your senses and we want our students to be physically active every day.”

Wellness Walks invite the entire school (students and faculty) to walk together as a community during a designated time.  This one-time event allows classes to choose how much time they want to be physically active, reinforcing kids in motion. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently published a revision in July 2010, which shows there is an association between school -based physical activity, including physical education, and academic performance. The report supports that physical activity was positively related to academic performance. More importantly, adding time during the school day for physical activity does not appear to take away from academic performance. The report encourages schools should continue to offer and/or increase opportunities for student physical activity.

Dates for elementary school walks are:  Branchville: 10/1; Barlow Mountain: 10/4; Scotland: 10/6; Ridgebury: 10/6; Farmingville: 10/8; and Veterans Park: 10/8.

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